Africa-Press – Tanzania. PLANS are underway by the government to construct the largest college of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country, which will mainly focus on research and innovation.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan revealed the plan in Chato, Geita region yesterday, during commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of the death of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
The head of state said that following the ICT development around the world, Tanzania has decided to invest heavily in construction of infrastructure, particularly in the National Fibre Optic Cable network in order to move communication services closer to the people.
“The government has also scrapped VAT on smartphones, tablets and modems in order to enable youth to use ICT to employ themselves for their development,” President Samia said. She said that construction of the ICT College will help to identify and register all youths engaging in ICT. “During my meeting with the youth in Mwanza, I told them to unite and cooperate as the government is aware of the innovations made by most youth entrepreneurs in startups and take-ups… the government will look into possibilities to further empower them so that you can grow and become international innovators,” she said.
President Samia noted that the ICT college will be a leading institution in East and Southern Africa.
She, however, cautioned that despite the benefits of ICT, when misused can cause problems in the society, such us misunderstandings, chaos, wars as well as evil acts such as cybercrime, terrorism and money laundering, with most youth being the victims. President Samia, thus, called on the youth to use ICT for their development and not otherwise.
During her meeting with youths in Mwanza region mid June this year, President Samia reaffirmed the government resolve to empower the country’s younger generation socially, economically and politically to ensure they play a vital role in development of the nation.
She said youth empowerment is among the top agendas of her government. President Samia maintained that the sixth phase government would champion the welfare of youths by providing them with relevant platforms for leadership positions, business opportunities and covering social and development aspects.
She urged young people to exercise the highest degree of integrity and honesty when serving public offices, saying they should deliver to the maximum expectations of the appointing authority and the general public at large.
